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| Day trippers arrive at
Green Island |
Green Island
Tiny coral cay which is a popular destination for day
trippers from Cairns.
For nearly fifty years Green Island has been one of Cairns'
primary tourist attractions. A small, coral cay it once had
nothing more than a jetty, a marine viewing point at the end
of the jetty and a few huts.
In spite of its distance from shore, Green Island was
well known to the local Aborigines. The Gungganyji people
claimed it was haunted by spirits but they still brought
their young men to the island for initiation. This process
of initiation commonly lasted for weeks.
The first European to sight Green Island was Captain Cook
during his journey up the east coast of Australia in 1770.
Cook named the island after Charles Green who was the chief
observer and astronomer-in-charge on the Endeavour.
It wasn't until 1857 that a man named J.S.V. Mien settled
on the island. He was in search of beche de mer (sea
cucumbers) for the Asian market and found that the waters
around the island had a plentiful supply. This activity
continued on the island until the 1870s when the beche de
mer were effectively fished out.
In 1899 the Queensland government planted the island with
coconut palms. This was an attempt to provide food for
shipwrecked sailors. The argument was that a shipwrecked
sailor could survive for an extended period on the milk and
meat of the coconut.
In 1905 George Lawson, a seaslug fisherman known around
Cairns as Yorkey (he came from Yorkshire, England) settled
on Green Island. He remained there until his death in 1907.
It was during this time that the Cairns Town Council took
control of the island hoping eventually to turn it into a
major tourist attraction. A report on the island's potential
at the time suggested that 'Hotels will be erected and
steamers will ply daily between the island and Cairns.'
By the 1940s the facilities on the island had expanded
and there were tents and huts available for rental as well
as a guest house. Perhaps the most important innovation at
this time was the establishment of the underwater
observatory in 1954. It was built in Cairns and towed to the
island on a boat made from empty 44 gallon drums. The drums
were pierced and it was sunk into the water where it still
stands today. It is a very simple chamber which is a far cry
from glass bottomed boats and semi-submersibles but it is an
important piece of Great Barrier Reef history.
Green Island was the setting for an innocent pre-marital
holiday for Joe Harman and Jean Paget in Nevil Shute's novel
A Town Like Alice.
Things to see:
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| Lazing on the beach at
Green Island |
Vital Information About the Island
1. The Island Itself
Location
27 km east of Cairns.
Description of the island
Green island is a small (15 hectare) coral cay which can be
effortlessly walked around in 20 minutes. In fact its
circumference is almost exactly 1.5 kilometres. It is about
300 metres wide and 650 metres long. The edges of the island
are either compacted coral or rather beautiful coral/sand
beaches. The interior is predominantly rainforest. The
resort takes up only 12 per cent of the total island so,
remarkably, there are still plenty of places where people
can escape.
How do visitors access it?
Great Adventures have a 50 minute fast catamaran which
leaves Cairns Harbour throughout the day. The first journey
is at 9.30 a.m. The last journey back from the island is at
4.30 p.m.
|
| Windsurfing off Green
Island |
Activities on the island
Swimming, snorkelling and bushwalking. The walks through the
rainforest are surprisingly informative as they are all on
boardwalks and there are numerous interpretative signs.
2. Resorts on the Island
History
There has been some sort of holiday accommodation on Green
Island since a guest house was established there in the late
1930s. Still it has always remained primarily a daytripper
destination. The current resort, a beautiful 5-star place
hidden in the rainforest near the jetty, was completed in
1994 by the Japanese property developer Daikyo.
Accommodation on Green Island Reef Resort can be arranged by
contacting the resort on tel: (07) 4031 3300 , free call
1800 673 366
How big is it?
46 rooms with a capacity 92 people.
Who does it appeal to?
In recent times the resort has become primarily a honeymoon
destination. It is quite popular with Japanese and Green
Island holidays are sold extensively in Japan.
How much does it cost?
Room and breakfast is $350 which works out at $175 per
person. This is one of the most reasonable rates for any
island accommodation in Queensland given the quality of the
resort.
Free activities
Bushwalking, nature walks, glass bottom boat, underwater
observatory, beach equipment, swimming.
Other activities
Scuba diving, snorkel tours, access to the Outer Barrier
Reef.
Eating at the resort
The resort caters as much for day trippers as for regular
guests. The range of eating on the island is pretty
comprehensive. Emeralds Restaurant offers high quality food;
The Canopy Grill is a snack bar, grill and kiosk which is
open all day; Reflections Pool Bar offers drinks beside the
bar.
Australian Businesses for sale
Caravan Parks for sale
Motels for sale
Hotels for sale
Broadwalk Business Brokers
Businesses for Sale in Green Island
: Buy or Sell Hotels, Motels, Caravan Parks, Bed & Breakfast,
Pubs, Wine Bars, Restaurants, Cafe, English Tea Rooms, Coffee Shops,
Deli, Catering Business, Pubs, Bars, Sandwich Bars, Pizza Delivery,
Bakeries, Hot Food Take-away, Fish & Chips, Petrol & Service Stations,
Australian Businesses for sale, Car Sales, Motor & Transport, Car/Van
Hires, Newsagents, Dry Cleaners, Salons, General Stores, Retail Stores,
Post Office, Printers, Convenience Stores, Clothes shop, Hair Dressers,
Beauty Salon, Fruit Markets, Butchers, Florist, Card & Gift shop, Sports
shop, Book Shops, Care Agency, Pharmacy, Tool-Hardware & DIY shops, Pet
Shops, Auto Mechanical, Auto Parts & Accessories,
Bakery Businesses for sale , Motel sales, caravan park sales, Hotel
sales, Business sales, Bar for sale, Juice Bar for sale,
Beauty Salon for sale, Bike and Motorcycle Businesses for sale ,
Australian Businesses for sale, Blinds and Shutters Businesses for sale , Boat Business for sale ,
Book Shop , Bread Run, Building and Construction , Butcher Shop,
Café Business for sale, Car Dealerships for sale, Car Rental
Business for sale , Car Yard, Cleaning Business for sale, Computer
Business for sale, Childcare Centre for sale, Confectionary
Business for sale, Convenience Store for sale, Deli Businesses for
sale , Distribution Businesses for sale , Earth Moving Businesses
for sale , Businesses for sale , Engineering Businesses for sale ,
Export/Import Businesses for sale , Fitness Centres for sale,
Florist for sale, Franchise Businesses for sale , Fruit and Veg
Shop for sale, Function Centre for sale, Funeral Parlour for sale,
Furniture Businesses for sale , Garden Equipment Businesses for
sale , General Store s for sale, Gift Shop for sale, Hairdressing
salons for sale , Hardware Businesses for sale , Hire Businesses for
sale , Businesses for sale, Motels for sale, Caravan Parks for sale,
hotels for sale, Ice Cream Businesses for sale , Juice Bar for sale, Laundrette ' s for sale, Lawn Mowing Businesses for sale , Magazine
Businesses for sale , Manufacturing Businesses for sale , Marine
Businesses for sale , Menswear Businesses for sale , Milk Run 's
for sale, Mixed Businesses for sale , Mobile Businesses for sale ,
News agency Businesses for sale , Pawnbroker Businesses for sale ,
Preschool for sale, Pest Control Businesses for sale ,Business for
sale Pet Shop, Plumbing Businesses for sale , Post Office for sale ,
Removalist Businesses for sale, Restaurants for sale, Roadhouses for
sale, Rubbish Removal Businesses for sale , Rural Supplies
Businesses for sale , Sales and Distribution Businesses for sale ,
Security Businesses for sale , Service Station for sale, Shoe Shop
for sale, Supermarkets for sale, Takeaway Businesses for sale ,
Taxi Businesses for sale , Transport Businesses for sale , Vending
Machine Businesses for sale , Wholesale Businesses for sale,
Wrecking Yard for sale in Green Island.
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